Vertical slice of my Godfather AU (tentatively titled "This thing of ours"
basically, Caitlyn is the youngest of four children of Cassandra Kiramman, who is known as "The Dame" in Piltover. She's one of the five families that have controlling interests in Piltover's criminal underworld, and Caitlyn is something of a black sheep - going off to war with Noxus (called The Big One in the fic) instead of being a part of Cassandra's criminal empire. Vi is Caitlyn's bodyguard and Cassandra's triggerman (basically a soldier or a paid killer, depending on what the family needs), and has been since they were both kids. you see the vision - criminal empire AU with bodyguard pining.
the slice takes place roughly a third of the way through the fic. there was an attempt on Vi's life that Caitlyn got caught in the middle of, and Caitlyn had to carry Vi eight blocks to an ER nurse's apartment - Mel Medarda.
hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.
To Sevika’s recollection, this was the most unkempt that Caitlyn Kiramman had ever been.
Her eyes were ringed with red from lack of sleep, she had a bandage plastered to the left side of her face - a shrapnel wound, Sevika had heard. Bullets that had smashed masonry in their attempt to end her and Vi’s life. She was using her cane again - and apparently she hadn’t touched it since she’d come back from The Big One with bullet scarring in her thigh and the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Sevika hadn’t spent a lot of time with Caitlyn. Sunny had been the daughter that Sevika had been charged with protecting, alongside other odd jobs that the Dame of the house had requested. The youngest daughter had been mostly Vi’s responsibility, and it was one that Vi had applied herself to with gusto.
Those early years were fading from her memory. She’d been doing this shit too long.
But Caitlyn still snapped upright when Sevika entered her room, cane at her side. She still nodded with that Kiramman grace - the grace that said she was in control, and that you had stepped into her world. Sevika had to admire that - the Dame had taught her youngest well.
“Ms. Kiramman,” Sevika nodded, pulling off her flat cap and crushing it in her good hand, “glad to see you up and about.”
“Same to you, Sawed-Off,” Caitlyn replied. Her voice was crystal clear. Her left hand held a bottle of brandy, and she raised it in question after a moment. At Sevika’s nod - grateful, because her fucking nerves were jangling in her stomach like Christmas bells and she was irritated about it - Caitlyn poured her three fingers, sat at her small table and gestured for Sevika to take a seat across from her.
Sevika closed the double doors to her room, sat across from her, and cupped her good hand around the brandy.
“I was surprised,” Caitlyn said, “when Jayce passed along that you wanted to speak to me. Even moreso when you requested that it be alone.”
Sevika nodded, sipped at her brandy. “It’s important.”
“I’ve gathered. Would you like to start at the beginning?”
Sevika lifted an eyebrow. “I thought you’d dance around it more.”
“The faster we finish with our business, the faster I can see how Vi’s doing at Mel’s. Forgive my speeding the process of negotiation along, some.”
Sevika snorted. “Negotiation.”
“All conversation is negotiation. Because you want something, and because you want it bad enough to come to me and not my sister, who is the current head of the organization and much more capable than I of dealing with what you want, I absolutely consider this a negotiation.”
Sevika swallowed the rest of her brandy in a single gulp, and Caitlyn was already pouring her more.
“I’ve never seen you nervous,” Caitlyn said.
“It’s not a common sight,” Sevika admitted, figuring it was useless to pretend. The youngest daughter was always perceptive. “If this is a negotiation, I’m entering on the backfoot. I hope what I’ve done for your mother, your family, negates that.”
“I’d never take advantage of you, Sawed-Off,” Caitlyn replied, gently, “tell me what you want.”
“It’s Sevika. Can you - can you call me Sevika?”
Caitlyn nodded. “Sevika.”
“It’s - you fucked up last night,” Sevika said, “you fucked up with Mel. You need to make it right.”
Caitlyn’s eyebrows shot to her hairline. “Excuse me?”
“Mel’s not in the game. She doesn’t have any skin in it. They tried to kill Vi, and now that you brought Vi there, then the Verazas - they’re going to see her as Kiramman aligned. You put her in danger.”
Caitlyn’s left brow lowered, leaving her looking skeptical. “Why would the Verazas care about an ER nurse taking care of a gunshot victim?”
“Nothing,” Sevika said, “but the men you left standing outside her door will cause questions.”
Caitlyn grunted in displeasure. “I told Sunny to put them inside, not display them. Damn it.”
“Sunny’s all about shows of force,” Sevika said, quietly, “she’ll think it makes us weak to hide our soldiers. She’s claiming Mel, whether she knows it or not, and that means Mel’s in a lot of trouble - a lot more than if Vi doesn’t pull through.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to her if Vi doesn’t make it,” Caitlyn said, softly.
“You say that now,” Sevika began, “but if Vi doesn’t-”
“Sevika,” Caitlyn said sharply, “I don’t break promises. She has my word, and since it matters to you, you do too.”
Sevika exhaled lightly. “The Verazas won’t care, though.”
“We can fix it,” Caitlyn mused, tapping her thumbs, “Sunny probably didn’t tell the door-men what they were protecting. Mother would’ve told her to keep it separated. Who did she send?”
Caitlyn hummed. “Then they know nothing. I’ll fix this - leave it to me. Do you have a recommendation as to who you’d prefer guarding her?”
Sevika watched Caitlyn for a few beats. “Yeah,” she said, softly, “yeah, one.”
Caitlyn sighed, smoothed her fingers along the edge of the tabletop. “This matters to you,” Caitlyn said, “it matters a great deal. Why?”
Sevika opened her mouth, closed it, shrugged. “She’s not in the game.”
“Neither was Seraphine’s producer,” Caitlyn pointed out, “and you got the name Sawed-Off after that job. Why the distinction now?”
“There’s not much of one,” Sevika said, “not really.”
“You must think me an idiot to swallow that,” Caitlyn said. “I thought you had more respect for my intelligence.”
Sevika ran her bad hand along her jaw, the prosthetic cool against her face. “It isn’t enough that she’s an innocent, that she’s not in the game?”
“Once, it would’ve been,” Caitlyn said, not unkindly, “but when the most dangerous triggerman in my mother’s organization comes to me and wants to be removed from my sister’s protection detail to sit in the apartment of a nurse, then yes. It matters.”
This was Dame Kiramman’s daughter, Sevika said, and couldn’t hide something akin to a proud smile from leaking through her lips. Sunny was certainly as tough as Cassandra, and Mira had the natural charm that Cassandra had displayed when she was up and coming, but Caitlyn had the steel silk, the flinty eyes, the commanding voice.
If Sunny wasn’t careful, Caitlyn could steal this whole thing - if she wanted it.
Sunny should be very grateful that Caitlyn didn’t.
“More,” Caitlyn continued, “I know the reason already - but I want you to say it to me.”
And now Sevika hated her.
“You know the reason,” Sevika repeated, incredulous.
Caitlyn nodded, sipped her brandy, swallowed.
“How long have you been seeing this nurse, Sevika?”
Sevika grunted, rose abruptly, smashed her flat cap on her head. “I’ll find a way to do it myself. Fuck this. I’ll take vacation time.”
“Not on the eve of a war you won’t,” Caitlyn said, “Sevika, sit down.”
“I don’t need to take shit from you. I don’t take shit from anyone. You’re the youngest fucking daughter - fourth in line to take the reigns. Scared little war hero playing at being the big Mafia boss.”
“All true,” Caitlyn replied, “you’re still going to sit down.”
“Why should I?” Sevika snarled, “I’m not going to sit there and have a fucking kid go through my affairs like it’s her business.”
“Because I’ll help you,” Caitlyn said, calm, relaxed, “and you’ll get everything you want - but you need to sit down, and you need to listen.”
Sevika thought of Mel - of her fucked up apartment, of her crime lord mother and all the things at stake. She thought of her alone in that apartment, with two dumb goons on her doorstep which may as well have been a sign that said Someone Important Is Here on it to any of the many Kiramman family enemies.
She thought of her, and so she sat.
“You don’t trust Sunny to protect Mel properly,” Caitlyn said, “I don’t trust Sunny to protect Vi, and we both don’t trust Peter and Max to protect them against Veraza interests. We don’t want Sunny finding out about your relationship with Mel, and we’d much rather have you in that building, protecting both of them. Have I summarised effectively?”
“There’s no relationship between me and Mel,” Sevika said, stubborn and stupid and in fucking love.
“Yes, of course,” Caitlyn replied, waving that away. “I’ll fix this for you. No favours owed. I want to - for everything you’ve done for this family, for my mother, my cousins - you deserve to be happy. Your people are our people.”
Sevika grunted. “My usefulness to your mom was that I had no people.”
“Everyone has people,” Caitlyn soothed, “that’s what makes us human. I’ll fix this for you. Go to her, and if you don’t mind - call the house from an outside line when you can, let me know how Vi is. I imagine I’ll be too busy to check on her today.”
Sevika stared. “I can do that.”
“How, exactly, are you going to fix this for me?” Sevika asked.
“I’ll tell Sunny you’re working on something for me that’s taken you out of the city for a week. Enough time for us to be sure about Vi either way, and then move Vi and Mel if needed. We won’t leave her out in the cold.”
“Sunny won’t like that,” Sevika said.
“No,” Caitlyn replied, and Sevika saw the silk steel flash, “I imagine she won’t.”
Sevika exhaled, thought for a moment. “Be sure about Vi either way. You don’t seem all that broken up that your bodyguard got shot up.”
“She’s a good bodyguard,” Caitlyn replied, “it would be a shame to lose her. The sooner I have news, the sooner I can select a replacement - no offense, but you’re a little long in the tooth for my needs.”
Sevika chuckled. “Right. You know, I used to think you two were sweet on each other. I guess I was wrong.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Caitlyn replied, patting Sevika’s hand, “most did. It’s natural when two single and healthy individuals spend such a long amount of time together to speculate. She’s a loyal person and my mother owes her a great debt, from my point of view. It would be a shame if she never got to collect.”
“You’re a pretty cold person, aren’t you,” Sevika said, watching her.
“When I need to be,” Caitlyn replied, “you’re wasting time. Go to Mel’s, send Peter and Max home - that’ll mollify Sunny some.”
Sevika watched Caitlyn, watched the prim and proper Mafia princess - silk steel over her features. She thought about the way Caitlyn shrugged off her relationship with Vi, thought about her own inability to do that with Mel. Thought about Vi’s lost puppy look whenever Caitlyn entertained a suitor, the hardness that had stolen over Vi when Caitlyn went to The Big One, served and got shot and fought for her country.
Caitlyn might not care, Sevika thought, but Vi sure did.
She hated having shit in common with the young pup.
“Alright, kid,” Sevika said, pushing herself to her feet. “Thanks.”
Caitlyn raised a glass in salute. When Sevika closed the doors behind her, Caitlyn was up and moving to her window, cane thumping rapidly. She didn’t move until Sevika was in her car, driving towards the gate of the estate, her heartbeat slamming against her ribs.
As soon as the gate opened and Sevika’s black car was around the corner, Caitlyn sat down on her bed - right next to the phone.
She put her cane between her legs, rested her hands upon it, and waited.
